The Shadow of Amulets

The Quest Begins

Link's POV

10:00 am

I woke up and looked at the ceiling for a few minutes. I was thinking about this whole situation and how far it has evolved from having dreams about the Amulet, to going on a mission to find the rest. It just felt crazy.

I didn't get much sleep, I was too deep in thought at night.

I jumped out of bed, got freshened up and put on my gear. I had a little side bag which had a few things including a book for reading, a few scrolls and a few copies of the clothes I wear. Once I was ready I grabbed my things and headed for the Palace to meet with Alaan and the King before we leave.

I arrive at the Palace and walk up to Alaan. "Hey Link, ready for the 'search for the Amulets and try not to get killed quest'" Alaan said with an evil smile. "I think you could do better with the name. It sounds...mental" I reply with a blank expression. "Well we got tons of time to think of a name, but I think it's perfect," he said excitedly. "You both ready" the King said while walking to us. "I'm more than ready sir, especially to find the next Amulet. It's in an area I know very well" I say. "Well, that's good. I hope you both have everything you need. I'm not sure how long this journey will take. "I'm fine" we both said. "Oh yes, one more thing. I've told all the Knights, you both are going to doing some scouring of the outer lands as part of training so you have nothing to worry about in terms of sneaking out."That's great dad, thanks" Alaan said.

"Except me," someone said in the background. He came out of the shadows and it was Sir Vivian. "So my two students are going on a journey to find some magical stones," he said walking over to us. "Well it makes sense that my dad trusts his most loyal knight to our secret huh 'vivs' Alaan said sniggering.

" I told you, kid, never call me 'vivs'. Always address me as Sir Vivian!!!" he barked at Alaan. "If you want me to stop the nicknames then take me on in a fight" Alaan replied with a smirk. "When will you get enough kid" Sir Vivian replied shaking his head. Both King Arthur and I were chucking in the background.

After 5 minutes we finally started to leave.

"Well, farewell you two. Hope everything will go as planned and also trust your instincts, they will lead you" the king said as he waved goodbye at us.

Sir Vivian held his two fingers up at us as his way of goodbye. We returned his goodbye and turned around and started walking out.

We just exited the gate to the castle and we were now on the outside. We heard the gate shut with a bang. "You hear that Link, the bang! It means we're banished! We can't return unless we find the Amulets" Alaan said as if he was acting in a play. "Sounds kinda harsh if you ask me. Being banished by your dad" I laughed.

"I'm trying to make it sound dramatic and suspenseful. I like to write mystery novels when I have free time" he replied. "Well, you sure got one hell of a story to write now," I say with a chuckle.

We continue to walk for about 30 minutes admiring our surroundings and trying to see as much land as we could.

We decided to take a short break. Alaan was practising with the sword his dad gave him and I was doing some shooting with my bow. After a few minutes, Alaan came up to me. "Link. Let's battle!" he said determinedly. "Wait what. You wanna fight now?" I reply. "Yeah like a little sparring match. Blade vs Arrow" he said with a grin. "You know what, you're on. Show me what you can do with that sword" I agree and get myself ready.

After a few minutes, we began the battle. We bowed and then it started. Alaan immediately bolted towards me as he jumped up and swung his sword at me. I quickly dodged but to my surprise, he immediately turned and continued to apply more pressure. I was impressed that he was able to adjust his skills to a sword he just got. Strike after strike he hit, but I managed to evade each one. There was some distance between us.

"Your sure love running away huh," Alaan said grinning. "Well your not making it easy to fight back" I replied. "If you think this is hard, check this out" he added with an evil smile.

He then started charging at me full speed. This time I was ready. I pulled out my bow around my shoulders. As he charged at me, he threw his sword in the air. "What!" I said out loud, shocked. He lunged at me and started swinging at me left and right. He was very fast and he managed to land a kick to my gut which hurt. I dodged his other strikes before slipping one of his legs causing him to fall down and then jumping off him into the air to spin and then shoot an arrow towards him. He dodged my arrow. By that time his sword fell and he caught it. It seems he tried to do something but didn't have enough time to utilise his sword while it was in the air.

"One final strike" Alaan muttered under his breath as he picked up a log. He began to charge again. I shot multiple arrows at him but he blocked them and tackled me to the ground. As we hit the ground the ground smashed. What he didn't notice until a second later was that I slipped out when we hit the ground and when he noticed I was gone, an arrow was shot towards him. It was one of my trap arrows. It shot a trap at him sending him flying into the tree trapping him. "Dam it Link! I was so close, I had you!" he said defeated. "That was close Alaan, I actually broke a sweat haha," I said while walking up to him.

"I doubt you were even trying haha. With your bow and arrow, who can actually match you" he said. "haha thanks, man. I mean I had a lot of training when I was young so I guess I can thank that" I say rubbing the back of my head.

"I'll train super hard from today and I'll beat you soon Link!!!" he said with determination. "Sure man I'll be ready. But we should really get going, we have quite a way to go and it's getting dark soon. "Well, anytime you wanna cut me free would be great," he said. "Well now that you mention it, I could just leave you there. I'm sure these creatures your dad warned us about would love to see you" I say with a laugh. "Not funny Link" he shouted. "Haha, alright fine, I tossed him a blade from my side pocket and he cut himself free. "Man I'm starving, I could eat anything. Good thing I packed us food meaning I just stole all the food I saw at the Green Dragon Inn and ran," Alaan said. "We should camp out near that cave for now and head out at first light," I say.

"Sure thing, I'm tired after that battle" he added.

After a few hours, it was pitch black in the sky and we tried to get some sleep. Alaan was already in a deep coma of a sleep which was no surprise to me, however, I couldn't sleep so I stood up and walked to the top of the hill and layed there staring at the stars.

It was something I always did to take my mind off things while living out in the wild. I would look at one star and try to connect it to other stars to create an image. I took a liking to constellations as it was interesting to see how they were made from stars. My dad loved to play that game with me. As I thought about him, my expression would go dull. I shrugged it off as I didn't like thinking about the past. As I layed there I let the wind blow over me as I observed the sky. My mind was still pondering about the Amulets and the one we were going to get next. "The Elder Forest huh...haven't been there in a while..." I say under my breath and I start to fall asleep under the stars.